


A T-Rex Sized Problem

by dancingmonkeycircle



Category: Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (Cartoon)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Post-Season/Series 02, Sharing a Bed, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:42:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28948371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancingmonkeycircle/pseuds/dancingmonkeycircle
Summary: SEASON 2 SPOILERS!!!!The campers are stuck on the island, and they don't have many ideas on how to escape. Ben's back, but Kenji can't seem to figure out what that strange feeling in his stomach is. Feelings are a mess on their own, but how do you deal with feelings and man-eating dinosaurs?Picks off after the ending of season two.
Relationships: Ben Pincus & Everyone, Bumpy & Ben Pincus, Darius Bowman & Brooklynn, Darius Bowman/Brooklynn, Kenji Kon/Ben Pincus, Yasmina "Yaz" Fadoula & Kenji Kon, Yasmina "Yaz" Fadoula & Sammy Gutierrez, Yasmina "Yaz" Fadoula/Sammy Gutierrez
Comments: 13
Kudos: 189





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!  
> This is my first published work, so any feedback is appreciated.

Kenji had never thought in a million years he would’ve ended up stranded on a dinosaur-invested island. The situation at the moment was pretty dire- that was putting it lightly. Tiff, Mitch, and Hap were all ...dead. Tiff’s boat sat just out of reach on the coast of the island, and, besides, the pair of Baryonyx was in charge of it now. Now he, Darius, Brooklynn, Sammy, Yaz, and Ben were sitting on an empty pier thinking of how on earth they could get off this island. So far all ideas the campers had come up with were nonsensical, impossible, or dangerous: build a raft and cross the ocean in a raft, swim to the mainland, stay on the island and become a group of hermits, and ride the Pteradons away from the island - Ben was not a fan of that idea. 

God, Ben, Kenji couldn’t believe his eyes when he and Bumpy had shown up to save them from Hap. Ben had changed. The timid boy of the past was replaced with a courageous, sometimes overly so, one, but Kenji had the sneaking suspicion that it was all an act to compensate for the trauma he went through. Kenji had done the same thing when his dad had gotten together with Candy; he loved his dad, but Candy wasn’t his mom. No matter what his dad tried to tell him about Candy, or how Candy tried to buy his affection with gifts she bought with his father’s money, nothing would replace her. So Kenji learned to accept the gifts, to spend time with Candy and his father, and no one was any the wiser.

Kenji wished Ben never had to experience what he had gone through. He hadn’t told any of them much other than the basics: he survived the fall, Bumpy found him and protected him, he defeated Toro (this was mentioned more than the others), and that he learned to live in the jungle. There had to be more. Right? The way Ben had learned to make weapons, use them, and defeat a carnivore; that couldn’t have been a random decision. 

The boy sighed and placed himself back in reality. Everyone was so tired and hungry. Damn it, he really could’ve gone for some of that frozen pizza right now. He looked over at Darius sitting next to him. He was in the middle of formulating another plan to escape the island. “Poor Darius,” Kenji thought, “Poor everyone is more like it, but especially him. Man, we would’ve been dead a million times over if he hadn’t been there to save our butts.” He looked over Darius towards the ocean, the unseen mainland, and wished more than anything he was back home. Even if it was lonely and miserable, at least it wouldn’t be here. God, he would kill for a frozen pizza right now. 

“Guys, let’s go back to camp for now,” Darius proclaimed,” We aren’t getting anywhere here. We’re only getting sunburned, and Ben can see it for the first time.” Darius smiled towards Ben, who unlike the boy from weeks ago, smiled brightly.

“You guys built a camp!” Ben’s sheepish smile turned into a giant grin. “Does it have a working shower?” That was the Ben Kenji knew, always overexcited about the smallest things that offered protection and sanitation. 

Kenji clapped the boy on his shoulder, “ You bet! Camp Kenji wouldn’t be complete without it.” 

As soon as the words “Camp Kenji” came out of his mouth, he felt the stares of the others boring into him. “We never agreed to call it that Kenji,” came Brooklynn’s exasperated reply. 

He shrugged in reply. “It sounds better. What can I say, I have the best naming skills. Between Camp Kenji and the Cool Kids' Kayak, I should name everyone’s children.” 

“No offense Kenji, but I would rather spend my life castrating cattle than having to live with your naming skills,” Sammy joked. The Texan’s hand was intertwined with Yaz’s, and Kenji found himself grinning. He was happy for them; they deserved each other. 

When the campers, plus Bumpy, finally arrived at the treehouse they practically collapsed into their beds. Everyone except Ben. “Uhh, guys, where should Bumpy and I sleep?” 

Crap, they hadn’t really thought this through. Kenji felt the sudden urge to offer up his own bed to the other kid. “No problem dude, I can totally rough it a couple of nights. You can take my bed. I’ll hang with Bumpy. If you didn’t already know, she’s actually my best friend.” 

Ben stared blankly at him for a couple of seconds before speaking. “I...umm…. Alright Kenji, but only if you are totally sure.”

“Yeah man, don’t worry about it.” In his head, Kenji was replaying his previous words over and over. 

He caught Sammy’s face at the edge of his vision. She was giving him an awkward smile and holding out a thumb’s up, and then she winked. What was that for? Whatever he’d ask her later. Ben walked up to him sheepishly, showing more of his old personality than he intended, and looked up expectantly.

“Oh my bad, I totally forgot you don’t even know which bunk is my bed.” Kenji smiled apologetically. He walked over to the bunk area and pointed at the bottom bunk of the second set of beds. “This is it, Benny boy. Home sweet home. Don’t worry about me; I’ll find another one pretty quick.” Kenji patted the bed, and Ben came walking over towards him. 

“Thanks, man, really, it means a lot.” The other boy took a seat next to him on the bed but then scooted away quickly. “Sorry, I didn’t realize how small the beds were for a second.” Oh, that’s why he scooted away. “So, what else did I miss besides you guys building a whole treehouse?” 

Kenji found himself uncharacteristically nervous with Ben. Kenji Kon was never nervous around anything, well, maybe anything but dinosaurs. He touched the back of his neck and felt the air become hot. “Um, we kind of just, well, you know, we just..” He couldn’t finish his sentence. Kenji’s words had left the building- left the entire island. “We found a T-rex lair on Main Street,” he blurted. Jeez, what was wrong with him. He never acted like this; he was supposed to be the cool one. “It almost got Darius and me, but Brooklyn saved our lives by using a cardboard cutout to bait the Rex.”

Ben’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, “Oh my gosh, did you get hurt?!”

“Nope, not a scratch,” Kenji lied; he had definitely got scratched. He didn’t want Ben to worry about him when he had been through so much more. “What about you Ben? We thought you were dead.” Kenji put his hand on Ben’s shoulder to comfort him. “We thought we had lost you; I thought I had lost you.”

The silence in the room was palpable. The strongman facade Ben had been wearing since they found him broke. He took a deep breath, but his eyes were watering with unseen tears. “I thought everyone had left. I thought I was the only one left, Kenji.” He wiped his eyes on his arm, “I’m sorry I’m being so, so, ugh, just I’m sorry. I don’t think I can talk about this anymore.” 

Kenji listened to Ben spew his words without any emotion on his face, but once he stopped talking his eyes were beginning to sweat. “Ben, listen to me. We’re here too; don’t forget it.” He shook Ben’s shaking shoulders gently. “Don’t forget that Ben; I’m here with you.” Ben slumped into Kenji’s chest, sobs wracking his small frame. Time passed without either of them noticing, and both of the boys fell asleep together on the bunk.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I'll try to update at least 3 times a week. I don't have a set chapter length, but my plan is around 50k. <3

Morning came quicker than Kenji would’ve liked, and, when he found Ben asleep in his arms, he dreaded waking up even more. Ben comforted Kenji like no other camper, and he just didn’t know why. Maybe it was because Ben was cool now, not fake-cool like Kenji pretended to be, but like real dinosaur-defeating level cool. Yeah, that had to be it. He thought Ben was cool; that’s all it was. He looked down at the sleeping boy lying on top of him. Without thinking, Kenji started to run his fingers through Ben’s hair; how had it stayed soft when the rest of him was covered in dirt? 

“Hey Kenji,” Darius called from the top bunk. “I saw you and Ben had both fallen asleep, and I decided to just leave you guys be. You both needed the rest, but the girls might’ve teased you. Just a little, man, I promise.” He jumped down to the floor and walked towards the main part of the treehouse. “Just letting you know ahead of time.” 

Kenji’s mind was working ten times faster than it ever had before. The girls teased him. What for? We just fell asleep together….oh. Crap. This was not good for his reputation as the ladies’ man of the group. Kenji quickly stopped running his hands in Ben’s hair and started thinking of ways he could play this situation off as something totally within ‘Bro Code.’

“Why’d you stop,” a sleepy voice responded. “It was relaxing.” 

Crap. “Huh, Ben! You’re awake!” Kenji jumped away from Ben and hit his head on the bunk above. “Sorry, you startled me, bro.” There, that would fix everything. 

Ben groggily looked up at him. “Oops, I didn’t mean to, but seriously why’d you stop? It was, I mean, it was nice.” 

Kenji couldn’t speak or think or look at Ben, so he did the only reasonable thing- escape the situation. He quickly got out of the bunk leaving a bed-headed Ben sitting confused, and hurried into the make-shift shower. Shit. He had just ruined everything, and, now, Ben was going to hate him because he left without any explanation. He can recover from this; yeah, he just needs to pretend it never happened. Then he can go back to being the glue that sticks everyone together like he told Yaz. He turned the hose to start the water flow and disappeared into his thoughts. 

After he showered, he entered the common area (the entirety of the treehouse except for the bunks and bathroom), and proudly proclaimed that, for once, his shower was not forty-five minutes long. 

“Yeah, Kenji,” Brooklynn joked, “ it was an hour-long this time.” The internet-star turned back to Darius, who nodded at her announcement.

“No guys, that can’t be true.” Kenji tried to steal the conversation back to himself, “Yaz, Sammy, please tell me it was not an hour. I actually tried that time.” He pleaded to the pair, who giggled in reply, and then looked around the platform for Ben. Where was he? “Hey guys, where’s Ben?” The others gave him a pointed look, and then all four of them pointed behind Kenji. 

“Uhh, hi,” Ben stated awkwardly. He still had a bedhead, and Kenji pictured himself running his fingers through it again. He was knocked out of his stupor by Sammy accidentally knocking over her stool. 

Kenji shook his head rapidly, “Please tell me I was not in the shower for an hour. Like I’m begging you, dude.”

“I don’t know...bro,” Ben shrugged and walked away without another word. His receding form descending the ladder to Bumpy, who waited underneath the treehouse.

Darius wolf-whistled, “Jesus, dude, what did you do?” 

Kenji looked around confused, “Huh, I didn’t do anything man. I don’t understand.”

“You really are dumber than you appear, Kenji,” Sammy patted his shoulder as if consoling his feelings. “It’s okay man, but you should go talk to Ben.”

He didn’t understand what Sammy was saying. Talk to Ben. Why? “Huh-,” was all he managed to stammer out before Sammy repeated her previous statement. “Just do it, Kenji, you got to trust me on this.”

Reluctantly, Kenji climbed down the ladder and slowly approached Ben, who was petting Bumpy on her snout. The weird hot feeling was coming back, and Kenji didn’t know why the heck it was happening or what was going on with himself. 

Ben had his back to Kenji, but he magically knew when he was close because he turned around and looked Kenji directly in the eye. “I don’t want to talk to you right now, Kenji.” The boy turned back to Bumpy and started to mount her, “Bumpy and I are going out.” 

The ankylosaurus started to lumber out into the open; her club swung in an arc near Kenji, who had to duck to avoid it. How did Ben ride that thing? “Dude, please. I want to know what I did wrong. I don’t know. Please, Ben, don’t ignore me.”

Ben turned his head to look at Kenji, “Whatever, Kenji; I just want to be alone right now, and I’ll try to find my own bunk today.” Ben sauntered away on Bumpy before Kenji could get in his reply, leaving Kenji alone under the treehouse. 

Kenji was, now, even more, confused than previously, but he felt the creeping sensation of guilt down his spine. The situation with Ben was now worse than before, and he needed to ask Sammy what the heck he did wrong. She seemed to know about these things. Dejected, he climbed back up the ladder, ready to put on his boisterous personality. 

Sammy and Yaz were sitting together on the opposite side of the treehouse. The latter wrapped her arms around her girlfriend- they weren’t exactly official, but everyone knew-, “Hey, Kenji, we were just talking about more ways we could escape because we can’t exactly live here forever,” she gestured to the treehouse around them. “So, how did it go with Ben? I know you two were arguing about something.” 

Kenji gave Sammy a look that would give the definition of “puppy eyes” a run for its money.

“Ouch, dude, that bad,” Yaz chimed in. “What did you even do? Forget to sanitize your hands or something?” That earned her a friendly punch on the shoulder from Sammy, “Alright, alright, just, I hope you two figure it out. We do have bigger problems to worry about.”

“It’s nothing, guys, I promise. Just a small thing,” he flashed his million-dollar smile. “We’re both “a-okay.” 

The afternoon passed uneventfully. Ben was still gone by the time the campers usually went to bed. Kenji was starting to worry about the boy. He was different, now, but the jungle was still dangerous, even if you had a fifteen-ton dinosaur to protect you. Should he go out to look for him? It could be a misunderstanding, or maybe Ben was lost and needed help. A game of tennis was being played in his head: look for Ben in the dark, scary jungle, or stay here while his friend got eaten alive. He didn’t like how the second option sounded. Ben had just come back to them; they couldn’t lose him again.

The others had gone to bed; he guessed they thought Ben was safe out there. Some part of Kenji thought so too, but he couldn’t just abandon Ben. He had been alone for so long, and he was finally back. Ben couldn’t just go away again- or worse. It wouldn’t be fair. He had to go look for him. Where could the boy have gone?

A creak on the wooden floors jolted him out of his thoughts. Kenji looked up to find the source of the noise. The platform was dark and empty except for a human figure leaving the ladder. It had to be Ben. Kenji slowly moved to turn on a flashlight that was sitting by his bed, but his hands were shaking with apprehension. The flashlight tumbled to the floor; the noise it made echoed in the dark jungle. The figure stopped moving, and the silence became louder. Kenji reached for the flashlight, hoping no one woke up from the sound, and fumbled with it until he found the switch. 

“Gotcha.” The light illuminated the treehouse, and when Kenji lifted his eyes to the figure a trembling, wet excuse for Ben was standing in front of him. “What in the world,” Kenji mumbled to himself. Why was Ben soaking wet?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 wasn't a fun chapter to write, but don't worry more fluff is coming soon. Thanks to everyone who reads this and interacts; it means so much!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I realllllly like this chapter, and it was soooo fun to write. I hope you think so too! <3

Ben’s trembling figure stumbled to the ground, but Kenji was ready. He moved towards Ben and stopped his fall. It wasn’t graceful, but it saved Ben from injury, which was all Kenji cared about. The kid was soaked: his clothes, his hair, his shoes. What did he do?

“Hey, Kenji,” muttered the smaller boy, “I might’ve fallen in the river.” Ben shivered from the cold, and Kenji’s heart ached to see him so small and fragile. 

“Why’d you do that, dork,” Kenji quipped playfully, “Did some dinos chase you or something?”

“Umm, actually, yeah,” was the hesitant response. Kenji stammered. He had been in danger, oh god. “Bumpy and I went to our river, where we used to go every morning, and I let her go downstream by herself because the water isn’t deep enough for her anymore. I didn’t bring a weapon because I wasn’t planning on getting ambushed, but -you’re going to laugh when I tell you what chased me. Promise me you won’t laugh.”

Kenji shook his head in compliance, “I promise.” He held out his pinky, “I’ll even give you the ‘Kenji Pinky Promise.’ My mom and I invented it for unbreakable promises, so trust me, dude. I am never going to break it.”

Ben took his pinky, and Kenji felt sparks at his touch. “So, um, back when we were alone, I got angry at Bumpy, and she left for a little bit. I was so scared that she wouldn’t come back, and one night, when it was storming super bad, a pack of Compies ambushed me. That’s when I knew I had to change- to be braver-, or I was never going to survive. Today the same Compies came back for me. I just got so scared and kept inching back towards the river. Before I knew it, I was falling, and by that time it was night outside. I was even more drenched than this; if you can believe that.” 

Ben shivered from the cold, and Kenji instinctively looked for something to layer on the poor boy’s shoulders. There wasn’t an abundance of blankets at camp, so Kenji used the next best thing, the sheet from his bed, only because it was the closest to reach. He took it off the bed, ever so slowly, and put it around Ben’s shoulders. The other boy moved closer for warmth, and Kenji felt his cheeks heat up. He had never felt so uncertain about his actions. 

“Thanks, Kenji.” Ben smiled up at Kenji. “I’m sorry for being so harsh before.”

“What, Ben, you don’t need to apologize for anything. It’s on me. I was scared, and I acted like a complete idiot. I’m sorry, and I’m sorry I called you bro, that was just too weird.” He smiled, eyes bright, and chuckled, “Forgive me?”

Ben smiled in reply, “I’ll think about it, city-boy.” Kenji looked stricken by his words, but Ben quickly consoled any doubt, “I’m just joking, Kenji. Who’s the scaredy-cat now?” 

A drizzle had descended upon the island, and the treehouse’s open spaces were showing clear signs of how much water had fallen. Kenji and Ben moved towards the bunk spaces, scooting slowly, so they didn’t have to get up from their positions and sat down on the floor, backs against the Kenji’s bed frame. “We always end up back at my bed, Ben,” Kenji joked. A chuckle slipped out of his mouth, and soon, both the boys were fighting back giggles. 

A crack in the dark jungle startled the pair. Eyes wide as saucers, Ben clung to Kenji’s arm. “What was that?” Kenji looked down at his face with equal terror; both made a beeline for the bed before Ben stopped dead in his tracks.

“What about Bumpy?”

“What about Bumpy? She has protection. What about us?” Kenji shut off the long-forgotten flashlight, grabbed Ben’s arm, and hurried to the beds.

The eerie silence didn’t last long. A click-click-click accompanied by a thud sounded on the wooden platform. Soft footsteps meandered around the rag-tag wooden structure, stopping, as if searching, every once in a while. 

Kenji and Ben were silent as they listened to the noises coming from just ahead. Ben drew a sharp breath, then another. If Kenji’s assumptions were correct, that was no ordinary dinosaur out there. He wasn’t a dinosaur expert like Darius, but he had been to the raptor paddock too many times to count on VIP access. He could recognize the distinctive noise of their giant claws anywhere. The skin on his arms was turning into goose flesh, but he couldn’t let Ben see. The only way they would get out of this was if they were quiet, so far so good. He shut his eyes hard enough to see stars and focused on his breathing. 

Neither of the boys had noticed the lack of clicking and the start of sniffing. The raptor had made her way to the food storage and was silently rummaging through food that campers had been gathering for weeks. She wasn’t eating; she was looking. Her roving eyes traversed the platform over and over again, but each time she seemed less sure of her movements. 

A breath here and there was the only noticeable sound coming from the bunks, so the campers went unnoticed by the raptor. Time seemed to pass by in slow motion, each second containing hours. Kenji and Ben had scrunched closer and closer, so close that any passerby who happened upon them would have thought they were up to something inappropriate. Kenji opened his eyes, saw his position, and shut them tightly again. His mind shifted from worrying about the dangerous, life-threatening dinosaur just meters away to innocently contemplating the boy cuddled up against his side. He had decided to give up on abandoning his feelings for Ben. He figured they were already stranded on the most dangerous island in the world; who was going to care if he liked a boy? His father. But he wasn’t here. Kenji wasn’t even sure he would see him again. 

The raptor had left, abandoning her futile search, but the boys stayed where they were. Trembling, Ben looked over to the other boy, who had since opened his eyes. “Do you think whatever it was.. Do you think it’s gone, Kenji?” 

Kenji paused. He didn’t want Ben to leave, but he knew the raptor was gone. He knew he would have to give up the bed, but he didn’t dare to tell Ben that he didn’t want to. “Yeah, I think it’s gone, but maybe we should stay here a little longer.” He added a hesitant “Just in case.” His cheeks were burning bright, and, suddenly, he was glad it was pitch black outside. 

Ben awkwardly shuffled around on the bed, accidentally brushing Kenji’s fingers. “Alright, yeah, that makes sense. We should stay here. Like you said, just in case.” 

Kenji’s mind was on fire. How had his life come to this? He was trapped on an island with dinosaurs and obsessing over a boy. How the mighty have fallen. He was glad that Ben had opted out of kicking him out of bed; granted, it was cold, wet, and muddy out. Anyone would’ve done the same, he repeated in his head like a mantra. Ben couldn’t like him back. Right? 

“Hey, Kenji,” Ben whispered through the darkness. “Kenji, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for keeping my ‘dork-pouch’; thank you for not giving up on me. It meant so much, and, I mean, it still does.” He was stumbling over his words like a newborn foal, but Kenji listened nonetheless. It was cute when he was flustered. 

“Hey, Ben, can I hug you?” 

“Wait, what did you say, Kenji?” Ben stopped talking midsentence because he was engulfed in Kenji’s arms. The latter of the two immediately regretting his decision while the former stuck to him like glue. 

“Oh,” was the only word that got out of Ben’s mouth. “Oh.” 

Kenji unhooked his arms and turned to him. “Sorry if that was uncalled for or anything. It just seemed like you could use a hug.”

Ben said nothing; he just looked up at Kenji with wide, blue eyes. Then he hugged Kenji back. It was Kenji’s turn to be rendered speechless. After a considerable amount of time, they let go. Kenji still couldn’t get any words out, but he was able to smile. He smiled the biggest smile the whole world had ever seen, and then he leaned in and pressed his lips to Ben’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for that cliffhanger, but I just had to. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! So life is busy right now, and I know I've been wanting to write more, but I just haven't had much time. Considering how hectic things are, updates will come out once a week. <3 Hope you enjoy it!

Fireworks. That was the only way Kenji could describe the sensation of Ben’s lips on his, whose own opened in approval of his advance. Holy shit. Why hadn’t he done this sooner? It seemed like hours had passed in pure bliss until it didn’t. Ben yanked himself away from Kenji quicker than Kenji could count to five. The smaller boy was breathless, blue eyes filled with caution. 

“Kenji, did you just kiss me?” He sounded confused at his actions. “Kenji, why did you do that? If you feel bad for me or something, please stop.” The boy turned away from Kenji, and he could tell he was trying to hold back tears. 

Kenji didn’t understand what he did wrong. Ben had wanted to kiss him, at least he thought so. “What are you talking about, Ben,” his voice rose, whether it was with anger or sadness Kenji didn’t know. “I wanted to. Ben, I probably should have told you earlier, considering I just kissed you without warning, but I...I like you. There, I said it. I, Kenji Kon, like you, Ben Pincus. Also, what’s with that last name; it sounds like a toddler trying to pronounce the word pink. But, yeah, or whatever, I like you.” Kenji could feel himself becoming less and less sure of himself, and he wished, more than anything, that he could run away into the jungle and never see Ben again. Everything was going wrong, and it was all his fault. 

“What,” Ben finally stammered back after a millennium had passed. “Oh, sorry, it’s just no one has ever said that to me before or umm kissed me.” Ben’s face grew redder until Kenji thought it was humanly impossible to get that red. “No comment on the last name; it’s not like I got to choose it.” He stopped speaking as if to gain confidence. “Kenji, I, uh, I like you too.” 

If Kenji wasn’t confused before, he was certainly confused, now. Ben kissed him, and then he didn’t, and then he liked him back. Why was it all so complicated? Why did he have to like Ben in the first place? All it’d caused was problems. But he couldn’t not like the boy; he was amazingly brave, kind, and adorable. Kenji looked up at Ben incredulously, “You like me?” 

The rain had started coming down in sheets, and the probability that one of the campers would wake up was increasing. The two boys were already on the verge of yelling due to the rain and the added revelations of the conversation. They’d left the safety of the bunk and were standing in the middle of the only walkway in or out of the bunk area. 

“I like you!” Ben practically screamed at Kenji. It was a miracle none of the others had woken up. “I like you, and, when you kissed me out of nowhere, I didn’t know how to react. I’m sorry.” Ben’s lips curled into a mischievous smile, “I did like the kiss, though.”

Kenji subconsciously touched his fingers to his lips. Of all times Ben decided to get cocky, it had to be about his kissing skills. He shoved all his worries away and focused on the fact that Ben liked him back and liked the kiss! It gave him a surge of confidence to speak his mind. “Glad you liked it, dork. Maybe I should give you more of them.” Kenji couldn’t believe he had said that. Gahhh! 

Just when he thought Ben couldn’t get any redder, he did. “Uh, you know what, Kenji. I don’t think I would mind that, but right now is not the best time. Wouldn’t you say?” He looked down sheepishly and gestured to the outside without looking back. “It’s, uh, late.” 

The darkness outside seemed to call the boys back to the bunk; the singular bunk they’d had to share. “I guess I can take the floor,” Kenji gestured to the rain-damp wood with a reluctant smile.  
Ben stopped him with a hand on his arm, “Well, if you want, you can stay. It’s not like we haven’t shared the bed before. Anyways, I need company. I’m so used to sleeping alone with Bumpy I didn’t realize how different things are. Even now, that dinosaur we heard earlier, I was terrified. Being alone-being hurt- it changed how I see things, Kenji.”

“I know, Ben, trust me. When you showed up with Bumpy and saved us from Hap,” Kenji trailed off. His mind drifted towards thoughts of Hap; he had sacrificed his life for them, and they had thought he was the bad guy the whole time. The guilt from the situation stood at his mind’s doorstep, waiting to be let in. Hap had deserved so much better than what happened to him, and to top it off the last thing he said to them was to ‘live a good, long life.’ How was he supposed to do that trapped on the island? “I miss Hap, Ben. He saved us.” 

The arm resting on his arm moved up to pat his shoulder comfortingly. “Hey. It’ll be alright, Kenji. We just got to find our way off. I know we will. We have to, Kenji.” Ben’s voice wavered slightly, the only sign he was struggling with the topic, as he spoke to him. 

The two teens huddled back into bed; this time, neither of them afraid to get too close to the other.

With the morning came the realization of the devastated camp. Trash was strewn about the deck of the platform, several chairs were knocked over and broken, and all the food was ruined from the rain. Everyone woke up not long after the sun rose- a habit most of the kids had adopted after being on the run from the local fauna for so long- and caught sight of the destruction. 

Sammy took it the hardest; Yaz had to, physically, pull her off of a ruined chair and, then, console her. Darius and Brooklynn stared in shock at the mess; their hard work was ruined in one night after days, and days, of construction. Everyone was in such a tumult that no one noticed the absence of Kenji and Ben, who were still tucked in bed. Kenji was flat on his back with arms stretched into a hug; Ben was scrunched into his side. Neither had any knowledge of the World War Dinosaur going on outside. Sammy, however, was the first to accidentally stumble in on the two without realizing it.

Kenji groggily opened his eyes to the tropical heat and blazing sun, only to stare into Sammy’s prodding finger. “What the heck,” Kenji screeched. “Ugh, Sammy! Let me sleep!”

“Nuh-uh, mister, tell me why you’re still asleep when we have work to do. A dino trashed the place, so we have to work extra hard now, which means no slacking.” She hit Kenji playfully on the arm before retreating to the deck. “Oh, and if you see Ben tell him to get his butt to work too; we don’t exactly have the rest of our lives y’know.” She threw him a friendly smile and took the last steps out of his line of sight. 

Next to Kenji, Ben stirred. “What was that about?” 

Kenji looked over to Ben, who had been hidden under both the covers and Kenji’s arms. “Looks like we got to get up, sadly.” 

Ben propped himself up on his elbows, “Hey, Kenji, can I ask you something?” When Kenji nodded in approval he continued, “What are we doing?” He gestured between the two of them. “Like, what is this? I’m sorry; I’m just really confused.” 

Kenji didn’t have an answer. As much as he liked to boast about being a ladies’ man and being cool, he didn’t know the first thing about, well, anything. “I’m not sure. Maybe, we just figure it out as we go, yeah?” He gave the other boy a half-smile and took his hand in his, “What do you think?”

“Yeah, I’m okay with that,” Ben smiled back. He got out of the bed, leaving Kenji’s hand alone on the sheets. “Let’s get a move on, city-boy.” 

“In your dreams, dork,” came the heated reply from where Kenji remained sitting on the bunk. “I plan to get a few extra minutes of beauty sleep.” 

Ben let out an exasperated sigh and walked over to where the other campers were. Kenji could hear them talking about what a tragedy the camp was, how Compies probably knocked over food, and the wind knocked over the chairs. Kenji knew that was wrong, and he couldn’t help but feel that the small break from the terror that they usually experienced was coming to an end.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! <3 Sorry for the short chapter, but I hope guys like it. My power went out for almost four days, so I haven't had a chance to upload or write, but I had to get something out. Plus, this chapter is pretty intense at the end, so I'm sure it'll make up for it. Anyways, enjoy!

The rest of the day passed uneventfully: cleaning, gathering, talking. The only things Kenji enjoyed were the secret glances he and Ben would share and the subtle touches that lingered for just the right amount of time. If anyone else noticed, they didn’t mention it. Kenji’s uneventful day became quite the opposite around midday; Darius assigned himself, Kenji, and Sammy to head to the river to see if there were any useable logs or other materials. Ben, sadly, was not part of Darius’s salvage team- partly due to the still-palpable tension between Darius and Ben. Kenji wouldn’t want to be Darius either. He had been wracked with the most guilt after Ben had fallen, presumably to his death. Darius had been elated when Ben had returned, they all were, but it wasn’t the same. Kenji had seen their interactions so far; they were strained and few. They needed to talk it out, but Kenji wasn’t one to prod. He made a note to mention it to either one of them, but he doubted his communication skills were up to par. 

Darius pulled Kenji out of his thoughts with a pat on the back and a quick reprimand, which went on and on about his slacking skills. They had been walking at a brisk pace along the river bank for what felt like hours- it was probably closer to twenty minutes, but what was Kenji to know. 

“Hey, sleepyhead!” Darius’s cry, once again, knocked Kenji out of his stupor. “We’re almost at the spot where I think there’s going to be a lot of materials we can use. The dinos always find ways to knock things into the river, so luck is on our side.” 

Darius had never been declared their leader, but it just seemed right having him in charge. The kid was a natural at speeches and other leader-like tasks. They were lucky to be stuck here with a dino nerd; that was a fact. 

“So, Kenji, did you and Ben fix whatever argument you were having?” Sammy strode up to Kenji with a shit-eating grin.

“Never even had a problem, to begin with,” Kenji retorted. 

The sun was beating down the group, and he silently wished they were almost to their destination. His feet were tired, but they always were. It was at times like these he got homesick; the hard labor encouraged Kenji to sugarcoat his life before the park. “Are we almost there, Darius? My legs are going to give out, man!”

“Ha yeah, yeah, we’re close.” Ahead, Darius pointed to a spot on the riverbank that had accumulated several logs. “That should do.” 

Kenji and Sammy both sighed in relief. Finally, they were done walking. However, their happiness didn’t last long because they realized they would have to make the same walk back, but with the added weight of logs. 

“Gosh, Darius, this is some job. What I wouldn’t do to have my family’s tractor right now.” 

Kenji nodded his head in agreement. He was dead tired after last night’s conversation with Ben. If he was honest with himself, most of the night he spent awake, nervously pondering. Nevertheless, Kenji was glad they had talked; they needed a heart to heart. 

Seemingly hours passed, filled with banter and normal conversation, as the kids gathered up potential repair materials. Kenji looked towards the water flowing peacefully and felt the sudden urge to jump in. It was so hot, and the water looked so relaxing. He took off his shoes and socks and slowly dipped his toes into the river. It wasn’t long until the warm sunlight, cool water, and tired eyes lulled the boy to sleep, which left Sammy and Darius to do all the hard work. The afternoon passed by Kenji in a haze, and he hadn’t even meant to fall asleep that time! 

When the others had finished picking out materials, Kenji was rudely awakened by Darius knocking him in the shoulder with a piece of driftwood. “Hey! I was sleeping!”

“Exactly,” came the reply. “We actually could’ve used your help here, for once.” 

“Well, you guys probably got sleep last night,” he muttered under his breath. Getting up was an arduous task, so Kenji, much to the dismay of the others, took his sweet time. “Is it time to go back, Darius?” He stretched his arms and gestured back towards camp. 

His question was answered with a stern look, that Darius threw over his shoulder. “Yeah, we are heading back,” he pointed to himself and Sammy, “But you are staying here until you gather at least five pieces.” 

Kenji groaned; he wished Ben was here right now, maybe even Yaz. They were probably his closest friends, well, ever. “Come on, man, seriously?” Kenji looked around for any sort of small stick on the ground; he was going to bring five of those because Darius had never specified what kind of log. Kenji chuckled, “Yeah, I’m the smartest.” Five sticks later, he started to head back to camp, only a couple of minutes behind Sammy and Darius. They were going as slow as a Stegosaurus because of their giant logs. Kenji hadn’t noticed how dark it had gotten; he guessed it was around six or so- not the best time to be out with dinosaurs. 

The ground was disgustingly muddy from the rain last night, and Kenji’s brisk pace caused mud to splatter all over his legs. Any dinosaurs around would’ve heard the noise from miles away. Kenji made sure to keep Sammy and Darius within his sights because his sense of direction wasn’t exactly the best. Things were going fine until his shoelace got stuck in the mud and wouldn’t budge, so Kenji had to stop and untangle himself from the swampy ground. When he looked back up, he couldn’t see anyone. Luckily, he could follow their footprints, but his paranoia was slowly increasing as more time passed without so much of a glimpse of Sammy or Darius. 

Kenji slowed his pace to a tentative prowl, making sure he was on the right path and that he didn’t have any unwanted followers. This went on until he reached a problem; it had gotten too dark to see footprints. Kenji was starting to panic. This was not how his day was supposed to go. He was supposed to be back at camp taking a cold shower to wash off the mud. 

A crunch of leaves behind him caused Kenji to stall. It could have been nothing, but he knew that was unlikely. He was on a dinosaur-invested island! He looked around at his surroundings and came up blank; he knew he should’ve paid attention on the way here. There was nothing, no cover or anything, that Kenji could use. If it was, in fact, a dinosaur, he would be toast. He took a deep breath and continued to walk down the way he thought was the right path. The crunching stopped, but he knew he was being watched. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the yellow eyes. He stopped entirely. His body froze up, and he turned around. 

That’s when he spotted the dinosaur’s feet and the distinctive clawed toe that belonged to it. 

Oh no.


End file.
